


christmas lights

by softyuns



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Christmas, Comfort, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, just a sudden last minute idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softyuns/pseuds/softyuns
Summary: Two lonely strangers find comfort on each other on a cold Christmas night.
Relationships: Kim Donghyuk/Song Yunhyeong
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	christmas lights

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I'm more than pleased to come back with a Christmas themed yundong with an idea that came very suddenly and wrote in a few hours. This is unedited, I didn't even proof read so sorry in advance for any mistakes!! I hope you don't find many! Anyways, enough talk and let's get to the spicy (sweet) stuff <3

It was around the eight time the convenience store's Christmas playlist was replaying that day, the place empty and lonely as Yunhyeong had to listen to Last Christmas for the millionth time that week. Christmas songs were nice, fun, but when you have been listening to them on repeat for five hours while sitting behind the counter, you kind of want to rip your ears off.

Most were out in the hot places of the city out with their friends or couples, so not many people came by to the small convenience store Yunhyeong worked at in a mostly residential neighborhood, making the cold December 25th night quieter than usual.

There was an hour left of his shift when an icy breeze hit him as a customer stepped in, a man around his age being eaten alive by his long padding and a bright red beanie decorating his head. Yunhyeong had seen him around, he stopped by every other night to buy snacks or prepared food. 

"Welcome!" he greeted him, as the man walked around the aisles looking for stuff.

Today it was a snack kind of day, apparently, arriving at the counter with a bunch of bags, a good balance between sweet and savory, and a six pack of the cheapest beer.

"Big Christmas party?" Yunhyeong asked with a smile as he scanned all the snacks and beer the man in front of him was buying, in need of human interaction on such a lonely night.

"Oh, I actually, uhm," he hesitated a bit, clearing his throat. Yunhyeong noticed his nose was red from the cold. "These are all for me."

"Huh? Are you spending Christmas by yourself?" Yunhyeong asked, stopping for a second to raise his eyes at him.

"Couldn't go back to my hometown to be with my family and all my friends are going on dates so I couldn't like, join them y'know," the man explained with a chuckle. "It's fine. I'm just gonna order some pizza and eat all this watching movies all night," he finished with a smile.

"Oh… I hope you have fun," Yunhyeong said sincerely, scanning the last item and reading the screen. "That'd be twenty five thousand. You need a bag?" 

"Yes, please," the man started reaching for his wallet as Yunhyeong packed his stuff, and threw a question back at him. "What about you, are you spending Christmas at a convenience store?"

"My shift ends at eleven and I'm too tired afterwards to go get drunk, so..." he grabbed the card the other was handing him.

The man gave him one final faint smile as he grabbed his stuff, nodding as he said, "Thank you. Merry Christmas!!"

"Merry Christmas!" Yunhyeong waved goodbye, watching him walk out the door.

Silence again. He sighed as he laid back on his chair.

The next hour was quiet as well, a handful of customers walking in but not really engaging in a conversation with him like the last one. He sighed in relief as his coworker walked in to start her eleven to five shift, meaning he was finally free to go home and watch dramas until he fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a back pain the following day.

"Hi!! Slow night?" she asked, taking off her scarf.

"Most people are in the busy places so yeah," Yunhyeong said as he walked to the back room to his locker. "How was your day?" he asked from inside, changing his uniform shirt for a turtleneck.

"I had lunch with my mom and managed to have dinner with my friends before coming here, so it was nice!" she replied, getting ready to get behind the counter. "Are you going out after this?" his coworker asked him as he stepped out ready to leave.

"Nah, too tired," he said with a faint smile. "Merry Christmas!"

"You too! Bye!!" she exclaimed, waving at him.

Yunhyeong was received by the piercing cold, a few, small snowflakes falling from the sky to rest on his hair and coat. He looked up to watch them fall, it was soothing in a way, but a sound in front of him distracted him.

"Is your shift over?" a familiar voice asked. Yunhyeong recognized the big padding and red beanie immediately, it was the customer from a while ago walking towards him.

"Oh! Hi?" he greeted him, confused. "Have you been out in the cold for the past hour?"

"No, no. I went home to leave the stuff I bought and came back," he explained, stopping in front of him, shrugging his shoulders because of the cold. He was still carrying a plastic bag, although smaller than the one he left the store with.

"Ah… and, uhm, why?" Yunhyeong inquired. He didn't want to sound rude but he was still confused as to why the man came to meet him there.

The other sighed, a cold breath leaving his mouth and fading into the night. "Listen, we both are having pretty shitty Christmas, right? I just thought I'd ask you if you wanted to go on a walk with me. I know a place you might like."

Yunhyeong looked at him with a raised eyebrow, warming his hands in his coat and looking around without really knowing what to say. After some seconds, he finally spoke.

"You want me to go with you, a stranger — no offense."

"None taken," he interrupted.

"To walk with you to some place I don't know in the middle of the night in a lonely neighborhood?" Yunhyeong finished, still with a raised eyebrow.

The other chuckled and looked down, probably realizing how insane his proposal sounded. "I'd understand if you decline," he laughed.

"Sure."

"What?" 

"Sure, let's go. You don't look like you'll murder me and my other option is watching dramas and eating cup ramen so sure, I'm in," Yunhyeong said with a shrug.

"Oh, nice!" the other smiled, surprised Yunhyeong actually accepted. 

"What's your name, Santa helper?" he asked as they started walking with the man leading.

"Donghyuk," he replied with a laugh at Yunhyeong's words.

"Donghyuk..." he repeated. "I'm Yunhyeong, by the way."

"Oh I know," Donghyuk said, "your name tag," he finished at the sight of Yunhyeong's questioning glance.

"Right. So,  _ Donghyuk _ ," he emphasized on the name. "Where are we going?"

"Have you walked by the river bank these days?" Donghyuk asked, looking at Yunhyeong as they kept walking.

"Hold on, you're taking me to the river bank?" Yunhyeong exclaimed dramatically. "To dispose of the body more easily?!"

Donghyuk let out a loud laugh, infecting Yunhyeong as well. "I swear I'm not a murderer!!"

"I'm joking," Yunhyeong said with a smile. "I have two part time jobs I juggle with college so I honestly don't have too much time to take walks on the river bank," he explained.

Donghyuk only hummed as a reply, and kept leading them towards the river bank a few blocks away. The cold breeze had made Yunhyeong's face go numb, and Donghyuk's nose was even more red than when he visited the convenience store a couple of hours ago.

Some carols and cheers could be heard at the distance, but as they neared their destination they started fading. Not many people were walking around, most preferring to stay indoors because of the cold, and right as they were about to cross the small tunnel leading to the river bank Donghyuk made them stop.

"What?" Yunhyeong asked confused, looking at him.

"Nothing, I just want to give more dramatism to the big reveal," Donghyuk's face glowed in anticipation. ""Okay let's go," he jumped on his feet and started walking again. "Maybe you'll find it boring but I just love it so much!"

As they neared the end of the tunnel, Donghyuk's excited glow started to match the one coming from the river bank, becoming brighter the closer they got.

Thousands of Christmas lights decorated the river bank for at least another kilometer, tangling in between the trees and making beautiful figures along the way. Different colors created hundreds of Christmas illustrations, like colorful constellations in the sky. 

Suddenly the night didn't seem as dark, and although Yunhyeong and Donghyuk were the only ones there it also didn't feel lonely nor empty. It felt full of life.

"You like it?" Donghyuk asked, biting his lip in anticipation to the answer.

"I love it," Yunhyeong sighed with sincerity, looking around not to miss anything. "It's beautiful."

"I'm glad," Donghyuk laughed in relief. "Wanna walk around?"

Yunhyeong nodded, and they started moving slowly and in silence without direction, just contemplating the thousands of little lights shining like stars in the sky. Being surrounded by all these somehow felt like a hug without being touched, and Yunhyeong's heart felt full like it hadn't been since God knows when. Donghyuk could see the trace of happiness in Yunhyeong's face, and couldn't help but smile to himself at the sight.

"I actually brought some beers," Donghyuk broke the silence, bringing up the plastic bag he had been carrying around the whole walk, "want one?"

Yunhyeong agreed, and they looked for a spot that could cover them from the freezing winter breeze, at least as much as possible. Donghyuk handed him a beer, still cold thanks to the weather, and offered a cheer.

"There's still a few minutes left of Christmas, so let's cheer," he said. "For many more shitty Christmases to come!!" he exclaimed, raising his can.

Yunhyeong laughed, but followed along. "For more shitty Christmases," he replied, clinking their beers.

They spent the next hour, maybe more, talking without a defined route. They told each other stories about their childhood's Christmases, how their parents went above and beyond to make them believe Santa was real, the toys they were gifted and had been long forgotten. Christmas was apparently Donghyuk's favorite holiday, so it was no wonder he felt especially nostalgic about it. They also talked about how growing up sucked, and how the magic seemed to fade more and more with each passing year. 

Yunhyeong thought the magic had already faded for him a few Christmases ago, but he felt surrounded by it now.

"Thank you," Yunhyeong said.

"What for?"

"For asking the lonely clerk at the convenience store to spend the last hour of Christmas with you and bringing him here," he smiled. "It's been very nice."

"Well thank you, convenience store clerk, for risking your life on this fine December 25th and being down to walk with a stranger that could've been a psychopath," Donghyuk said, making them both laugh. "No but really, thank you for coming with me even though I probably freaked you out a little back there."

"You did," Yunhyeong agreed, "but the risk was worth it. It's getting unbearably cold, though, and I have to work tomorrow as well so wanna head back?"

"Of course," Donghyuk stood up, shaking off his clothes, and offered Yunhyeong a hand, one he, deep inside, eagerly accepted.

Once Yunhyeong was up Donghyuk let out a "oh!", his lips matching the expression and his eyes opening in surprise. Yunhyeong turned around to be blinded by one of the illustrations made with the Christmas lights, a mistletoe forming in the universe of little stars. He laughed out loud.

"Was this on purpose?" he asked, turning to face Donghyuk.

"Wh- no!! I just was just surprised but no, no. It's not even a real mistletoe anyways," Donghyuk stuttered nervously, and started walking back. "Shall we go?"

Yunhyeong followed, his laughter losing itself in the cold breeze. "Good. Because I wasn't gonna kiss you, nor let you kiss me."

"Yeah, that wasn't gonna… happen. Don't worry," Donghyuk stated awkwardly.

"At least not on a first date," Yunhyeong finished, and Donghyuk's only reply was a loud breath he was holding back followed by a laugh, looking at his feet as they moved towards the center of the neighborhood.

Their walk back was quiet, both too cold to speak, only breaking the silence when they reached the point in which they had to go their separate ways.

"Thanks again," Yunhyeong smiled at him. "It was really nice."

"Don't thank me," Donghyuk asked, and took a long breath before continuing. "Hey so, uhm, would you be down to hanging out again? Like go for a coffee or whatever."

"Sure," Yunhyeong agreed, the same tone he had used when he decided to spend the last hour of Christmas with a stranger a few hours ago. "I'll be waiting then! You know my shift."

"Cool! Good, yes. Nice. So I would see you around then!"

"See you!" Yunhyeong waved.

But before he could turn around to walk home he was surprised by Donghyuk's sudden embrace, arms wrapped around his shoulders. It took him a few seconds to reciprocate the gesture out of surprise, but he tightened the hug and rubbed Donghyuk's back, letting himself enjoy the warmth of the other man against him.

"Sorry," Donghyuk apologized, breaking the hug.

"No, no, not at all. Thank you again," Yunhyeong said sincerely.

"You too. Okay, now bye! Stay warm!!" Donghyuk waved and turned his back at him, heading home.

"Stay warm," Yunhyeong replied, but he doubted Donghyuk could hear him now.

He walked back home replaying the events of the night in his head, and thinking about what a weird Christmas he had just spent. It felt sort of like a dream, like a hallucination. A moment in which time stopped and he headed to another dimension for a bit.

But even if it had been just a dream, even if he imagined the whole thing, the warmth on his chest was spreading all over his body, warming up even his numb face, and the magic of Christmas touching some fibers he had long forgotten were still inside him.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! i hoped you enjoyed this ♡ comments and/or kudos are deeply appreciated ˆˆ
> 
> Merry Christmas!! 🎄❤️ 
> 
> Love, M. ♡


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